Nouvelles-sport canadien
Application to have Swimming Coach Cecil Russell�s 2005 reinstatement decision
set aside was upheld by Ontario Superior Court of Justice
(Ottawa, Ontario � June 7, 2007) � The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that its court application to have swimming coach Cecil Russell�s 2005 reinstatement decision set aside, on the basis that it was obtained by fraud, has been upheld and referred back to the arbitrator, Mr. Graham Mew, for reconsideration based on additional evidence.
The decision to set aside Mr. Russell�s 2005 reinstatement effectively means his lifetime suspension is back in effect. �The CCES believed that we had a responsibility to parents and the children who participate in sport to pursue this matter,� said Paul Melia, President and CEO of the CCES. �Today, sport won � we are very pleased by both decisions � the ban and the referral back to the arbitrator.�
�The Canadian Anti-Doping Program is, at its heart, about protecting Canadian athletes� rights to compete in doping-free sport,� Mr. Melia pointed out. �But recent revelations related to Balco in the U.S., the Tour de France in Europe and other investigations in Australia and Austria, are beginning to reveal the full extent to which coaches, athlete support-personnel and others are aiding, abetting and influencing athletes to dope.�
�We can no longer be content to catch the odd cheater through our testing program,� Mr. Melia emphasized. �We need to move up the supply chain and pursue those who manufacture, import and illegally distribute banned substances.�
In August of 2006, the CCES, along with Swimming Natation Canada and Coaches of Canada, applied to have the 2005 reinstatement decision of Arbitrator Mew, regarding Mr. Russell, set aside on the basis of fraud.
On June 24 2005, Mr Russell applied for reinstatement for the second time and after a hearing was held in September 2005, Arbitrator Mew ordered that Russell be to sport eligibility.
(�Following the arbitration�pg 2)
Following the arbitration hearing, the CCES learned from reading newspaper articles in the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star, that Mr. Russell had pleaded and been found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute MDMA (ecstasy) in Arizona and was sentenced to a term of four years imprisonment in March 2004. At his reinstatement hearing before Adjudicator Mew in September 2005, Mr. Russell did not disclose his conviction for conspiracy to traffic in ecstasy in Arizona in 2004, to Arbitrator Mew.
A subsequent CCES investigation into American court files resulted in the release of documents proving Mr. Russell�s criminal conviction.
�As a parent myself, I am also reminded of how important it is for parents to have full knowledge of who they entrust their children to in sport,� commented Mr. Melia. �Coaches play a very important role in our communities � they influence and help educate our children � not just in sport but in life.�
Mr Melia stressed how important it was to be diligent in asking the right questions. �We need to ensure that anyone who coaches our kids upholds and models the values that we embrace as a society,� Mr. Melia stated.
The CCES is an independent, national, non-profit organization. Our mission, to foster ethical sport for all Canadians, is carried out through research, promotion, education, detection and deterrence, as well as through programs and partnerships with other organizations.
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(Copy of decision (English) available online at
www.cces.ca/pdfs/CCES-CASE-RussellDecision-E.pdf)